


Devoted to You

by ayra_isaac



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gift Giving, M/M, POV Shiro (Voltron), Self-Loathing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayra_isaac/pseuds/ayra_isaac
Summary: Shiro wants to surprise Keith with a gift, but is hit with feelings of worthlessness in the process. Keith comes home early to change that.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 86
Collections: Shiro Birthday Exchange 2020





	Devoted to You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maderi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maderi/gifts).



> Serving as pinch-hit for the 2020 VLD Exchange and maderi. I felt that art alone wouldn’t be enough for the prompt, so I hope this combo fic + art suits your tastes!
> 
> Also, thank [my friend](https://twitter.com/Witty_Blue/) who basically provided the idea for this fic!

Keith’s face was beautiful, alright. No matter the angle or the expression he wore. Were he angry, smiling, or flustered, he was always beautiful in Shiro’s eyes, as proven by the exaggerated number of Polaroids Shiro had scrambled around the cool floor of their shared home.

Keith couldn’t possibly know, but Shiro had been painstakingly taking pictures of him during the last month. Initially, his intention had been to take pictures of them _together_ , to have a record of those very brief moments in which they could enjoy each other’s company, and maybe put together a photo album for him. At first, he had made up the excuse that he wanted to try and see whether his grandfather’s Polaroid camera worked. Keith had seemed content with it, and merely looked a bit flustered at any time ~~s~~ whenever Shiro proposed they take a picture. What Keith didn’t know is that Shiro took a shot of Keith at every chance he got when the gorgeous man wasn’t looking. And now that Keith was off in a mission with the Blades for the weekend—the same weekend Shiro had taken off from his duties as the Captain of the Atlas—Shiro took the chance to pull out his treasures and inspect them in Keith’s absence.

He honestly hadn’t expected to end up taking nearly two hundred picture ~~s~~ of Keith. Before he knew it, he found himself pressing the shutter whenever he felt he had caught a good shot of his husband. And now that he was looking at the fruits of his labour, he wasn’t disappointed.

They _were_ pretty good pictures: beautiful Keith in every possible angle, pose, attire. Keeping himself from pressing his lips softly onto each and every single one of those Keiths proved harder than Shiro had expected.

He was both proud and happy of all the pictures. He would be able to make his very own photo album of Keith—Without its main protagonist finding out, that is. Keith would probably be creeped out at that.

Shiro gathered all the pictures of Keith into small piles, and put them aside for later. He then took the piles of pictures he had taken of them together, and looked at them closely. He was now ready to make the selection of those that looked good enough to make up their photo album.

Yet, what started with him content to see Keith in many different angles, it ended with him and his mood souring as he went from picture to picture. Soon enough, the pile of ‘discarded’ pictures became larger than the approved ones (if there were any at all), and as he finished going through all of them, Shiro dropped his head on his metallic arm in frustration.

It wasn’t about Keith. No, he looked stunning as always. It was exactly Shiro’s presence in those pictures that he thought it ruined them. He looked happy, yes—Keith looked very happy with him too—but somehow a feeling of self-deprecation crept up within him as he kept staring at those pictures.

He sighed, and shook his head. He had to do this. He had to—for Keith. That thought gave him a bit of strength.

He picked up a pen, and started scribbling in some of the few approved pictures. Looking at Keith’s face in them inspired him to write what he many times failed to express in spoken words. Yet, the whole process made him face his own mediocre self again and again, until he was forced to drop the pen and stop writing altogether. 

He had never considered himself handsome. And whilst he knew he was smart, good at his job, once the youngest junior officer at the Garrison and all—He really didn’t think he was a good match for Keith. He was a battered man, a cripple at that, prone to panic attacks that had of course affected his performance as the highest officer in command of the Atlas at times, and also prone to nightmares that often woke Keith at night. 

Keith was exactly the opposite. Young, flawless, determined. Stubborn at times, yes, but that only added to his charm, as it had gotten him to be where he was at now: Keith, Paladin of the Black Lion. Keith, Leader of Voltron, and an agent of the Blades of Marmora. The same Keith who had given up everything for Shiro many a time. The same Keith who had been willing to sacrifice his own life to die with who he thought was Shiro. The same Keith who had brought him back to life when Shiro felt his existence was slipping away. And the same Keith that still stood by his side, and never gave up on him even when he had had all the reasons to do so.

Keith had saved him in more ways than one, and proved his love and loyalty to him every day. And all Shiro could think of was gifting him a photo album, to make up for all that?

It was stupid.

He smacked the pictures against the floor in a fit of anger. He couldn’t do this. This wasn’t enough.

He would never be good enough.

“Hey, big man!”

Shiro’s spiralling self-loathing thoughts were put to halt when shorter but strong arms embraced him from behind abruptly. He hadn’t heard the metallic doors slid open, nor his husband’s steps toward him.

“Keith?” It was easy to smile with him. “Why are you here? Didn’t you have a mission assigned today?”

Keith leaned his head on Shiro’s flesh shoulder. “Yes, but mom said they could do it without me. Uhm,” he stuttered at that. “She heard about your weekend off, too. So.” That was when Keith raised his head and looked straight at him. “I-I’m still on call, just like you.”

Shiro hummed contently, choosing not to mention that he now knew it was not that Krolia had heard about it, but rather that Keith had told her instead. That earned him a quick peck on those pretty lips. “That’s good, then.”

Keith blushed at that for some reason, and broke their gaze. He then widened his eyes, staring at the floor in front of Shiro. “What are these?” he asked, releasing Shiro and taking one of the scrambled pictures.

When Keith was around, it was also easy to forget about everything else. Which is why his own foolish brain hadn’t even thought about hiding the pictures as soon as he was surprised by Keith.

He sighed. No sense in getting agitated when the whole idea of a photo album of them seemed stupid.

“These, eh… I wanted to make you a photo album,” he confessed, voice low and upset.

“Oh”. Keith looked at their pictures as if entranced, his cheeks turning a light shade of red. “You even wrote phrases on them…” ~~~~

Ah, yes. He did. Corny little phrases that could never truly encompass what he felt for Keith. ~~~~

“Yes…I was trying something different but—nevermind. It was going to be a surprise, and… well, these are not good.”

He tried to take the pictures from Keith’s grasp, so tired he was of looking at them himself, but Keith beat him to it as he clutched them against his chest.

“N-never mind this? A surprise? That I _just_ ruined?”

He sounded so disappointed. Shiro’s heart sank.

“You didn’t. I just—I don’t know. I don’t like them. I don’t like this.”

Keith raised an eyebrow at that. “What is it that you don’t like?”

“This—Me. I don’t like me trying to—Sorry, Keith. Forget it. I’ll think of something. Something better. This doesn’t work.”

Shiro tried to take the pictures back a second time, but Keith refused again by swatting his hand.

“What do you mean ‘this doesn’t work’, this is perfect!” Keith looked at him straight in the eye, and placed both hands on Shiro’s shoulders. “Shiro, I want this. I like this. These pictures are perfect, and I want you to make a photo album with all of them.”

There was no hint of mockery in Keith’s face. Shiro didn’t understand why, but Keith seemed to be really serious about this. Shiro let a moment of doubt take him over once more:

“You don’t think it’s corny and stupid?”

Keith’s response was immediate.

“I love you, Shiro, but sometimes I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re not very open about your feelings, and neither do I want to force it on you. I never expected you wanting to do something like this for me, so this is…This is…” Keith kept the pictures tightly tucked against his chest, and gave Shiro a flustered smile that suddenly washed all of his worries away. “I love this. I really do. I’d love to have a photo album with all these pictures of us together.”

Shiro felt his lips curl into a heartfelt smile. How could he say no to that?

“Alright. I will do it.” As it was with any number of things, Keith made it easy for Shiro to regain a bit of confidence in himself.

“Thank you, Shiro!”

Keith jumped on him in a warm and joyful embrace that nearly made Shiro fall with his back on the floor. It spurred a chuckle in him, wrapping his arms around his husband.

Keith made everything seem so simple, so fulfilling, that at that very same moment, Shiro’s mind had suddenly no place for self-deprecating thoughts anymore. If he had managed to bring that smile to Keith’s face, to prompt this reaction in him, then Shiro could do nothing but feel proud of himself. 

“Uhm, Shiro…”

The silence they shared in each others’ arms was suddenly broken by Keith’s inquisitive curiosity.

“Yes?” Shiro asked, eyes closed and nuzzling into Keith’s glorious hair.

“…What about -these- pictures?”

Shiro’s eyes shot open to see Keith holding behind his back the pictures testament of Shiro’s worship to Keith. Shiro felt his face burn at that. _Of course_ he had been stupid enough to forget about hiding those as well.

“A-ah, well, they are…” he stammered, without being able to hold Keith’s intrigued gaze anymore, “f-for me…”

Shiro listened to Keith slowly fumble with the pictures in his hands, silently awaiting his verdict.

“So…” Keith started, and Shiro looked at him only to see that his cheeks must be just as flushed as his own. Keith cleared his throat. “You… You also planned to make an album of…pictures of me…for yourself…?” 

“Y-yes…” Shiro confessed, hiding his face behind his metallic hand.

As Keith remained silent, Shiro looked at him in the space between his fingers, then dropped his hand all together when he saw him grinning.

“You don’t… think I’m a creep?”

Keith strengthened his grip on Shiro’s back and leaned on to Shiro’s ear:

“I would like my very own ‘Shiro Summer Photo Collection’ too, please.”

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t written in more than a year, so my rustiness clearly shows. I hope that my art makes up for it!
> 
> Speaking of, check [my twitter](https://twitter.com/AyraIsaacArt) if you wanna see more Sheith and some Allurance art!


End file.
